Realized I was tightening BB cups with the wrong tool for 2 years

Been using a basic pin spanner on cartridge bottom brackets, wondering why they kept creaking after a month. Finally borrowed a shop's proper BB tool at the co-op in Portland and holy cow, the cups went in flat and solid. Has anyone else struggled with cheap tools causing noise that you blamed on the parts?

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grant7281d ago

Wait, what kind of cartridge BB were you running? Because yeah, the pin spanner can work in a pinch if you're super careful, but it's way too easy to get the cups slightly cocked and then you're chasing that creak forever. Same thing happened to me, I went through two cheap Shimano BBs before I figured out the cups were just not seating square. Even a basic Shimano BB tool is worth it, the one that fits the splines, because it grabs the whole face of the cup and you can really feel when it's snug and straight. Once I switched, I never had that popping noise come back, it was the tool all along.